Refuel Restaurant

About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Dedicated to seasonality and locally-sourced ingredients, Refuel serves both high-quality comfort food and high-concept, Northwest cuisine from its great location on Kitsilano's W 4th Avenue, just blocks from Kits Beach.

Refuel Restaurant
1944 W 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6J 1M5
604-288-7905

Pros

• Menu changes weekly as new, seasonal ingredients become available
• Chefs use organic, locally-sourced ingredients where possible

• Serves both comfort food and high-concept cuisine
• Great location on Kitsilano's W 4th Avenue & walking distance to Kits Beach
• High-quality service

Cons

• Street parking can be difficult to find

Description

• Open Monday - Friday for lunch 11:30am - 2:30pm & for dinner 5pm - 10pm
  Saturday & Sunday 11:30am - 10pm
• Most entrées $15 - $25
• Family- and kid-friendly

Guide Review - Refuel Restaurant

Back in 2007, I reviewed Fuel--Refuel's previous, fine-dining incarnation--for this site and gave it the highest praise. The first time I tried Refuel (during Dine Out Vancouver 2011), I was pleased to learn that, while they had shed non-essential fine-dining trappings like fancy linens, their dedication to delicious food remained intact.

Today's Refuel epitomizes "casual fine dining:" their authentic, juicy Buttermilk Fried Chicken and mouth-watering Dry-Aged Beef Burger share menu space with challenging dishes like Chef de Cuisine Jane Cornborough's multi-layered Ricotta Gnudi & Duck Confit and her Warm Octopus & Chicory Salad.

The octopus salad is one of my favourites; Chef Cornborough cooks the octopus sous-vide for five hours, and the result is the most tender, least-chewy octopus I have ever had.

One of Refuel's biggest assets--and part of its commitment to seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients--are its artisanal salumis--dry cured chorizo, coppa, fennel pollen salami, saucisson sec, and 18-month dry-aged ham--all of which are handmade by Refuel co-owner Chef Robert Beltram at The Cure. You can try them all with the $21 Charcuterie Plate.

Aside from the food, one thing I love about Refuel is its dedication to trying new things. It has an annual Spot Prawn Boil communal dining event in late-May/early June (a local favourite) that expanded to three nights in 2011 (due to high demand). As of June 21, it will start serving its beloved fried chicken (formerly a Friday-night-only dish) daily and will offer it cold, in a to-go box, for picnickers on their way to Kits Beach. Thanks to their talented Bar Manager Rob Scope, they also have a wide array of original cocktails; try the Bacon Refashioned, a re-imagined Old Fashioned with bacon-infused rye.

With its lively, energetic atmosphere, its loyalty to organic and local ingredients, and its ability to cohesively serve traditional comfort fare alongside high-concept cuisine, Refuel is the perfect Kits neighbourhood restaurant and a great choice for brunch, lunch or dinner no matter where you live in Vancouver.